A Bouquet of Sand
by Luna Riven
Summary: Crocodile has returned to Alabasta but with a very different goal. Please note that this was dreamt up on con lag so please don't take it too seriously.


A Bouquet of Sand

By Luna Riven

Dedicated to Aceonist who giggled with me while I wrote it and helped with the title.

Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Oda, not me.

…..

The high, hot desert sun shone down over Alabasta. The rebuilding of Alubarna was going as planned and the people were happy. Cobra smiled as he looked down upon the busy square and streets below from the palace walls. He longed to go and walk with the people but his aching bones would only put him in the way of the workers. For now it gave him the greatest joy to simply see his country reviving.

Suddenly a loud cry rang out from the tower above. Cobra spun round to face the direction the guards were pointing. There seemed to be an enormous sand cloud racing toward the city but it was going against the wind. A spasm of fear clutched the king's heart. _There was no way…_

He snatched the telescope from the nearest slack jawed guard and peered through, ignoring the painful glare of the sun. What he saw both confused him and caused the tendrils of fear to tighten on his heart.

It seemed to be an immense ship made entirely of sand gliding over the dunes like some sort of vast leviathan. And standing at the front of the bow was the devil himself. The king's hands shook so hard that the telescope dropped and clattered unnoticed to the hard stone floor. _There was no possible way…._

In a matter of moments the monstrosity was in clear view and sailed directly up the edge of the palace walls, gliding over any people in its path, until it was close enough that Cobra was able to look directly into the face of the monster himself.

Crocodile had retained his fearsome aura. His grotesque smirk was in no way diminished by his time in Impel Down.

Cobra shook in fear but clenched his fists and controlled his voice to shout down in a authoritative tone, "What do you want, you monster? I thought we had driven you away from our lands for good. Have you returned to cause more pointless death and bloodshed?"

Crocodile let out a bark like laugh, making the king's blood boil even more. He was about to raise his hand to signal an attack when Crocodile spoke.

"I don't care anymore about your pathetic little kingdom. I have no more need for an endless wasteland. I have come for a very different conquest this time."

Cobra stopped. What could he possibly be speaking of. Things took a turn for the even stranger when Crocodile started to gather a large mass of sand in his hands. Cobra was certain that it was going to be some sort of horrific weapon or representation of his demands, but then it turned into an enormous bouquet of flowers that sparkled in the sun.

Adding shock to shock, Crocodile called out in a very different tone of voice than Cobra had ever heard, words that he never had expected to hear.

"Vivi! My beautiful little desert flower! Your defiance and strength have captivated me! For these many long months of our separation I could dream of your loveliness! Come with me so that we may rule the world's seas as pirate king and pirate queen!"

Cobra could only gape, speechless and open-mouthed. A second voice rang out, but from behind him, a beautiful, familiar voice but also speaking words that seemed impossible.

"Oh! Crocodile! I thought you would never ask!"

He turned as a flurry of red cloak rush past him and to see his scarlet corseted and pirate hat-ed daughter leap from the ramparts and into the waiting arms of the monster below. He tried to reach out, to call out, to stop her in some way but his voice failed him and he felt himself being sucked down unable to move as she and Crocodile sailed off into the sunset, laughing like a newlywed couple.

…..

King Cobra sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. Disoriented and confused he thrashed about, struggling to detangle himself from the constraining sheets. He rushed out of his room, pelting down the hallway, not caring if he woke the slumbering castle or bothering to alert the guards or give any explanation to the ever-vigilant, ever-present Pell. All that mattered was his destination.

He burst through the door, still gasping heavily, and breathed a sigh of relief. There she was, still asleep in her bed, the light from the desert moon softly illuminating her gentle features. Cobra sat slowly down into the chair by her bed. The terror driven adrenaline slipping from his body, he felt the weariness of ruling a country gradually returning.

Just for a moment, he thought, he could stay like this. He gazed at his sleeping daughter's face. Every day she was growing to look more and more like her mother. Some day, when she was older, he would have to find her a fitting suitor, but for now she was still his Vivi.

He rose carefully, his joints protesting slightly, and placed a soft kiss on Vivi's forehead before leaving, closing the door quietly behind him. He nodded to the shadow he knew Pell was lurking in and ambled slowly back to his room.

As the door closed and the band of golden light from the hall shrank and then disappeared, the princess's room was once again full of shadows and bands of moonlight that crisscrossed from the lattice windows. One of these bands fell upon something the king had not seen, a single, small, perfectly formed glass flower, resting beside her pillow.

…..

A/N: Please don't shoot me. This was inspired by con lag and written under the influence of sleep deprivation. I hope you enjoyed it and leave your comments in the comment box, along with your guesses to what the last line is alluding to~ I'm rather curious about what everyone thinks.


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